Social media evangelists rabidly promote their new medium, apparently unconcerned that it is largely unproven and in many cases ineffective.

I resist them because I live by this adage: “Be not the first to cast the old aside nor the last to accept the new.”

Early adopters are often unwise because they gamble on a technology or methodology that has not demonstrated its value — and therefore the chances of failure are high.

I believe in the old observation: many pioneers have arrows in their backs.

My late father told me never to buy a new car the year the model is introduced. He said: better to wait until the bugs are worked out, and then buy.

This can apply equally to marketing. Let the pioneers test out unproven methods and take the arrows. I’ll wait until they are successful, avoid costly mistakes, and profit from their channel or method using the proven techniques that work.